UDC 904:73"652"(497.113)
DOI: 10.2298/STA0656153P
153
IVANA POPOVI]
Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade
MARBLE SCULPTURES
FROM THE IMPERIAL PALACE IN SIRMIUM
Abstract. – Few fragments of marble sculpture have been found in the course of the archaeological excavations conducted
in Sirmium between 2003 and 2005 at site 85 which is believed to be part of the imperial palace complex. The most important
are two almost completely preserved heads of deities. The head of a young person made of milky white, fine-grained marble
of exceptionally fine texture from Pentelicon was found under the Late Roman floor in room 7 of the residential structure.
The sculpture, of exceptional quality, is from the second half of the 1st century and represents a deity, most probably Venus
or Apollo. Another head made of Carrara marble, from the 4th century, was found in a secondary position and on the basis
of its mural crown is identified as the Tyche of Sirmium.
Key words. – Roman sculpture, marble, Sirmium, deities, personifications.
F
ew fragments of marble sculptures have been
discovered in the course of systematic archaeological excavations conducted in Sirmium
from 2003 to 2005 at site 85 which is almost certainly
the imperial palace complex1 (Fig. 1). The most important are certainly two almost completely preserved
heads of deities.
The head of a young person (C 109/2003) made of
milky white, fine-grained marble of exceptionally fine
texture and originating from Pentelicon2 was discovered in October of 2003 in the layer of building rubble
and fragments of Roman pottery, under the floor of
room 7 at the absolute altitude of 80.27 m (Fig. 2 a–d).
The head slightly inclined to the right and fragment of
the neck are almost completely preserved; the total
height is 17 cm, while the dimensions of face are 9.5 x
7 cm. The portrayed person, of exceptional, idealized
beauty, has symmetrical features. The large eyes of
almond shape are wide open, with modelled eyelids,
but without denoted irises and pupils. The nose is
symmetrical with the tip broken off. The mouth is
small, with full half-opened lips giving the face a
melancholic impression. The chin is rounded and
slightly protruding, cheeks are smooth and full, while
the neck is massive without visible wrinkles. The hair
represented in the full volume is in contrast to the
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smooth surface of the face. It is parted in the middle,
framing the face in gentle waves modeled in relief and
with locks emphasized by incisions. On the back of the
head the side locks combed over the ears are gathered
* The author presented a brief account of these finds at the
International Meeting Les ateliers de sculpture réginoaux: techniques, styles et iconographie, Xe Colloque international sur l’art
provincial romain, Arles et Aix-en-Provence, 21–23 mai 2007.
1 Systematic investigation was preceded by test trenching in
2002 when one trench (11 x 5 m), which yielded relatively clear
stratigraphic data about this multi-layered site was excavated, cf.
Jeremi}, Popovi} 2004, 284–288. In the same area, somewhat
more to the east test pit excavations at site 37 were conducted in
1968 and 1969 that to a certain extent were investigations of the
same archaeological entity to which the remains recorded to the
south of this complex belong and which were examined during
excavation of locality 1a begun in 1957, cf. Milo{evi}, Milutinovi}1958, 5–57; Popovi} 1969, 665–675; Ochsenschlager, Popovi}
1975, 85–95; Bo{kovi}, Duval, Gros, Popovi} 1974, 597–656; Popovi} 1971, 119–148; Brukner 1983, 5–31; Jeremi} 1993, 90–97.
The existing hypothesis that localities 1a and 37 are sections of the
imperial palace was confirmed by the results of Yugoslav–American
excavations in 1970, when the remains of the imperial hippodrome
were discovered to the north of the residential structure, cf. Popovi}, Ochsenschlager 1976, 156–181.
2 Analysis of the marble used in the sculpture discussed here
was performed by Dr H.W. Müller, University of Natural Resources
and Applied Life Sciences, Institute of Applied Geology, Vienna.
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IVANA POPOVI]
Fig. 1. Imperial Palace Complex in Sirmium: a–d) fragments of marble sculptures on the locality 85
Sl. 1. Kompleks carske palate u Sirmijumu: a–d) nalazi delova mermernih skulptura na lokalitetu 85
into a ponytail, which is bent and attached creating a
low bun, which looks in profile like a fish tail. Below
the bun and behind the ears long curls fall down the
neck. The locks above the forehead are pulled towards
the back and tied into a big bowknot (krobylos) with
curled locks depicted by incisions. Around the head
and under the locks tied into a knot on the back of the
head is a band (taenia). Judging by the dimensions of
face, the head belonged to a statue around 80 cm high,
i.e., between half and two thirds of the normal height.
The idealized features confirm that marble head
represents a deity. This conclusion is supported by the
hair style with krobylos characteristic of the representations of gods, above all Apollo, Venus and Diana. As
the attributes which could reliably identify the depicted
deity are, unfortunately, not preserved, it is necessary
to use indirect methods to identify the represented per-
son. A half-opened, sensual mouth and melancholic
expression on a slightly inclined head are typical for
the representations of Venus, the goddess of the morning
star, love and beauty, while Diana, the goddess of forests
and hunting was most often depicted as an energetic
young woman with bow and arrow. Stern features and
a cold expression without emotion also characterize the
marble heads of two other portraits of Diana from the
time of Hadrian, one discovered not far from Sremska
Mitrovica, in Putinci near Ruma3, and the other from the
museum in Bucharest.4 Among many portraits of Venus
in Roman art the best analogies for the marble head from
3 Dautova-Ru{evljan 1983, T. 41. 2; Srejovi}, Cermanovi}Kuzmanovi} 1987, 72, kat. 27.
4 Bordenache 1969, 43, T. XXX, 66.
MARBLE SCULPTURES FROM THE IMPERIAL PALACE IN SIRMIUM
the imperial palace in Sirmium can be found in works
discovered in Rome itself, first of all in the sculptures
of the Venus Pudica type5, in particular in the famous
Capitoline Venus, the Roman copy of the work of some
of Praxiteles’ followers.6 These are sculptures of exceptional artistic quality made in the early imperial period
as the copies of sculptures of Aphrodite from the early
Hellenistic period. Nevertheless, they are characterized
by cold academism in expression, a certain stiffness of
the slender body, and oval faces without visible emotion. The head from Sirmium is also the work of a firstclass sculptor made in the artistic style of Julio-Claudian
epoch, but at the same time relying on the best traditions of Hellenistic artistic expression. A certain expressionlessness of the face, a result of the eyes depicted
without irises and pupils is avoided with a nicely shaped half-open mouth, which emanates melancholy, but
also increases the sensuality of the portrayed face. On
the other hand, the wide open eyes gazing into the distance give to the person a certain determination characteristic more of the portraits of Diana and Apollo
than of Venus. The neck of the Sirmium head lacks the
curving creases used to evoke the softness of the naked
female body which is characteristic, first of all, of representations of Venus and are hence known as the Venus’
necklace. Therefore, although it is clear from the treatment of the eyes of the Sirmium head that it is an object
of art from the period of the Early Empire, closer dating
and more reliable identification of the deity depicted
requires examination of other stylistic elements.
The sculpture is of a person with oval face,
massive neck and wavy hair combed over the ears and
gathered on the nape in a low bun of geometric shape,
with locks falling in waves down the neck. Similar
iconographic characteristics, massive structure of the
scull, fleshy face and thick neck are characteristic of
portraits of Nero, either in three-dimensional sculpture
or on the coins.7 Particularly important for our analysis
are representations of this emperor on the whole series
of the vitreae from the Serbian Danube valley on which
the emperor is represented as Apollo.8 The explanation
for Nero’s assimilation with Apollo could be found in
the fact that he, being an admirer and patron of music,
issued coins on which he was depicted as Apollo with a
lyre on the reverse. These coins were minted in Rome
during the short period of 61–62 or perhaps in 63–64
AD.9 The iconographic characteristics of the idealized
emperor’s image in profile (Fig. 3) on some vitreae
from the Serbian Danube basin10, like the shape of head,
protruding chin and massive neck, as well as the modelling of hair around the ears and on the neck, have
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155
close parallels with corresponding traits on the marble
head from Sirmium, as can best be seen by examining its
profile (Fig. 2 b). The model of the idealized representation of Nero as Apollo on the vitreae was certainly a
portrait of this emperor on some official cameo made
of semi-precious stone. There is indirect evidence for
the existence of such cameos as on the plaque of sheetsilver on the inside of a chest of St. [imun from Zadar,
work of the goldsmith Toma Martinov from the end of
the 15th century. The architectural background is decorated with medallions inspired by antique cameos and
on one of these medallions was a representation of an
idealized image of the emperor, analogous to that of
the vitreae from the Serbian Danube valley.11 It means
that this motif left a deep mark on Roman art, being an
inspiration for the artists of later times and, to all appearances, contemporaries as well. However, on the marble head from Sirmium, the voluminous mass of wavy
hair is dominant, whereas the accent on Nero’s portraits
on coins from the later phase of his rule was on hair
rising above the face like a lion’s mane.12 In addition
to the representations on cameos, coins and gems, one
of which is housed in the National Museum in Belgrade,13 there must have been sculptures of the emperor,
idealized as Apollo. This suggests that the marble head
could have belonged to a statue of this god, one of many
Roman marble replicas of Leochares’ bronze sculpture
dating from around 330–325 B.C., of which is most
famous example is the Bellvedere Apollo.14 Even more
probably it was a replica of a sculpture of Apollo with
a lyre, or Apollo Kytharodes, of which the closest to the
Sirmium sculpture in hair style and position of the head
is the Apollo from Kyrene, made after the work of the
Attic sculptor Timarchides from the 2nd century B.C.15
However, while some Roman replicas, the Bellvedere
Apollo for example, were modelled rather stiffly, in the
stern academic style, the marble head from Sirmium is
characterized by a certain liveliness; a result of the
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
LIMC VIII, nr. 88.
LIMC VIII, nr. 113; Nieber 1955, Fig. 34–35.
Bernoulli 1886, 1486–1488.
Popovi} 2001, 377–382.
RIC I, 152; BMC I, 249–250, Pl. 44. 12; 45. 2.
Popovi} 2001, sl. 7–9.
Petricioli 1986, 149–159, T. V b.
Hannestad 1988, 114, Fig. 73.
Kuzmanovi}-Novovi} 2005, kat. 450, inv. 3861/III.
Lippold 1950, T. 98. 3; Bieber 1955, Fig. 200; LIMC II, nr. 79.
Bieber 1955, Fig. 678, 679.
156
IVANA POPOVI]
Fig. 3. Vitrea with Representation of Nero as Apollo,
unknown site in the Danube valley
Sl. 3. Vitreja sa predstavom Nerona kao Apolona,
nepoznato nalazi{te u Podunavqu
half-opened sensual mouth in the oval face. A small
bronze head from Grgurovci near Sremska Mitrovica,
dating from the time of Hadrian,16 also belongs to the
same type of Apollo portraits, stylistically close to the
original from the Hellenistic period. On the other
hand, the position of the head, the fullness of the face
and the treatment of the eyes and mouth connect the
Sirmium marble head with representations of Apollo
based on the traditions of works from the Praxiteles’
school, among which is the colossal statue from the
theatre in Carthage made in the 2nd century.17 Taking all
the above into consideration, we can say with reasonable
certainty that the newly found head probably represents
Apollo or Venus. The stylistic parallels make it possible both to date the sculpture to which the head once
belonged; moreover, they also offer a possible explanation of its presence within the context of the imperial
palace at Sirmium.
The head was discovered in a layer of building
rubble and pottery under the floor, the level of which
corresponds to the level of the floor of a structure restored during the 4th century, most probably the peristyle
courtyard constructed on the location of a room with a
hypocaust from the end of the 3rd or the beginning of
the 4th century.18 The decoration of a room in the Late
Roman residential structure with a sculpture dating
from a couple of centuries earlier could be explained not
only by its exceptional quality and beauty, but also as
the intention of Constantine, the emperor who resided
in this palace, to legitimate himself as the successor of
the Augustus’ ideas by means of veneration not only of
Venus, but also Apollo. It is common knowledge that
Augustus thought that he won the battle of Actium in
31 B.C. thanks to the intervention of Apollo and he dedicated the temple on the Palatine hill to this god in 28
B.C. Claiming to be the son and earthly representative
of the god himself, he was often represented in the form
of Apollo.19 This also explains the background of Nero’s
wish for the same associations to himself; like his illustrious predecessor, he was represented with Jupiter’s
aegis on his chest and crowned with solar rays, insisting
on the ideological link with the traditions of Augustus’
time.20 On the other hand Venus Genetrix was believed
to be the ancestress of the gens Julia, the Roman state
and people that was of special importance in the ideology and political propaganda of Constantine as the
new Augustus. Within the context of such a policy he
wanted to garner ideological support for his rule with
representations of the so-called good emperors of earlier
epochs in the monuments erected in his honour, as he
did when he incorporated Trajan’s and Hadrian’s reliefs on his triumphal arch in Rome.21 Furthermore, as
the admirer of the Sun god he continued the works on
the base of Nero’s colossal monument which depicted
this emperor as Sol.22 After all, Constantine’s respect
for the solar deity was deeply rooted in his personality
since his earliest days, his father Constantius Chlorus
being a great admirer of Apollo, whose cult he accepted
in almost monotheistic form.23 As is recorded in the
16
17
18
19
Srejovi}, Cermanovi}-Kuzmanovi} 1987, 60–61, kat. 21.
Ennabli et al. 1995, 98–101.
Jeremi}, Popovi} 2004, 286–287, sl. 6.
Alföldi 1977, 191, Taf. 13. 1, 2; Hannestad 1988, 57–58,
Fig. 37.
20
Hannestad 1988, 113.
Spätantike 1983, 327.
22 Ensoli 2000, 86–90. It is worth mentioning that the Late Roman cameo of sardonyx, today in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, on which the emperor as Sol on quadriga is depicted with the inscription Neron Auguste (ibid., 68, fig. 6; Constantino 2005, cat. 98).
23 Burchardt 1949, 282. The respect for the Dardanian descent
of Constantius Chlorus was based on the cult of Apollo, who was a native religious pivot in Dardania (Jovanovi} 2006, 127, 142–143), so
on the wreath with busts on Galerius’ porphyric head from Romuliana this emperor was depicted as Apollo/Sol (Jovanovi} 2006, 191).
21
MARBLE SCULPTURES FROM THE IMPERIAL PALACE IN SIRMIUM
a
b
c
d
Fig. 2a–d. Head of Deity (Venus?, Apollo?)
Sl. 2a–d. Glava bo`anstva (Venera?, Apolon?)
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158
IVANA POPOVI]
a
b
c
d
Fig. 4a–d. Head of Tyche of Sirmium
Sl. 4a–d. Glava Tihe Sirmijuma
MARBLE SCULPTURES FROM THE IMPERIAL PALACE IN SIRMIUM
Panegyric from the year 310, Constantine himself experienced a vision of Apollo in Apollo’s temple in
Autun, which he lavishly endowed during his military
campaign in Gallia. On that occasion Apollo allegedly
predicted that Constantine would reign thirty years, so
he considered himself a protégé of this god.24 How
powerful the impact of this belief was on the emperor
is confirmed by a gem from the National Museum in
Belgrade on which one of Constantine’s sons is depicted
as Apollo,25 like Nero some two-hundred and fifty years
earlier. Thus, the re-use of monuments from the time
of Nero in the buildings of Constantine and in the imperial propaganda of this epoch can be explained both
as a consequence of their shared veneration of the Sun
god and also as Constantine’s desire to accumulate in
his personality the characteristics of his predecessors
of whom Augustus played a particularly important role.
The distinctive imitatio Augusti is confirmed by the
marble relief perhaps from Sirmium, dating from the
reign of Constantine and on which was depicted, in a
rustic manner, the upper frieze from Augustus’ famous
cameo (gemma Augustea).26 In general, the reign of
Constantine is characterized by conspicuous aspiration
to retrospective that can be seen as a reflection of the
nostalgic attitude towards the past, but also as proof of
cultural continuity, which made possible the creation
of the concept contained in the idea of Roma Aeterna.
These circumstances offer an explanation of the fact
that a statue made in seventies of the 1st century in some
well-regarded sculptor’s atelier, most probably in Italy,
found itself in the imperial palace in Sirmium. It may
have been brought to Sirmium under the Flavian dynasty,
when the city became a colony the importance of which
is confirmed by the discovery of the marble head of the
emperor Titus27 that later, in the early decades of the 4th
century, was also used to decorate the imperial palace.
The second marble head (C–154/2005) was discovered in September 2005, about ten meters southeast
of the head just discussed. It has been found in quadrant 1 of sector B, in profile next to wall XVIII at an
absolute altitude of 82.15 meters. Taking into account
that it is the eastern wall of the apse of the 14th/15th
century church it is clear that the head was found in a
secondary position where it was deposited after the
destruction of the Late Roman structure.
The head and a fragment of neck, made of white
Carrara marble, are partially damaged; total height is
19.5 cm, while the dimensions of the face are 11.5 x 8 cm
(Fig. 4 a–d). The sculpture represents a mature woman
with a highly raised chin and back-thrown head. The face
is symmetrical, without distinctive individual features.
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159
The orbital arches are prominent and drooping at the
ends. The wide open eyes have emphasized irises and
drilled pupils. The largest part of the nose is broken off.
The mouth is symmetrical and the tip of the chin is
damaged. The hair is parted in the middle of the head.
It frames the face in gentle waves depicted by incisions
and it is gathered at the back into a loose bun. On the top
of the head is a crown, partially damaged at the front
and on the left side. On the uncovered part of the head
under the crown can be seen the parting from which
the locks of hair are combed sideways. Symmetrically
arranged vertical mouldings on the frontal segment of
the crown to all appearances represent the turrets of a
wall, although the crowns of the battlements could not
be identified because of the damage. It was most probably a mural crown (corona muralis) of the type usually
worn by goddesses who protected cities.
Judging by the mural crown, therefore, the head
probably belonged to a statue depicting the protectress,
Tyche of Sirmium, i.e., the personification of the city.
City goddesses or personifications of cities, provinces
and rivers are frequent motifs in Roman art, adopted
from the repertoire of Hellenistic artistic achievements.
These representations went through iconographic and
symbolic changes in the course of time and finally in
the Late Roman period, when personifications of cities
were particularly numerous on various monuments,
the images of these goddesses became schematized,
without individual characteristics. Only two representations of Tyche of Sirmium have been identified so far,
and neither of them is a three-dimensional sculpture.
They are encountered as stamps on two gold ingots
discovered at the Crasna site near Brasov in Romania
(fig. 5 a–b). On both items, Tyche of Sirmium is depicted in profile, highly schematized, sitting on a cippus,
holding in her hands the palmeta and cornucopia, and
wearing the mural crown on her head. In the segments
of both stamps is the inscription SIRM. On one ingot
there are four stamps and one of them has three imperial busts (Gratian, Valentinian II and Theodosius?),
which are repeated also on one of the five stamps on the
other ingot.28 The busts of the emperors date the production of these ingots to the final quarter of the 4th
century. They were produced in the Sirmium workshop
24
25
26
27
28
Burchardt 1949, 282; Cavalcanti 2005, 46.
Kuzmanovi}-Novovi} 2005, kat. 451, inv. 1894/II.
Popovi} 2006, 15–19.
Anti~ki portret / Classical Portraits 1987, cat. 83.
LIMC VII, 779, nr. 1–2.
160
IVANA POPOVI]
a
b
Fig. 5a–b. Tyche of Sirmium, gold ingots, Crasna
Sl. 5a–b. Tihe Sirmijuma, zlatne poluge, Krasna
MARBLE SCULPTURES FROM THE IMPERIAL PALACE IN SIRMIUM
and they also bear the stamps either of the masters who
made them, or the official of the imperial treasury who
deposited them in the treasury.29 The representations
of the city goddess are, however, highly schematized
on both stamps, so she can be identified only on the basis
of the inscription in the segment as is, after all, the case
with representations of the city Tychai (Roma, Thessalonica, Naissus, Constantinopolis) on the stamps on
other ingots from the end of the 4th and the beginning
of the 5th century.30 Similar, very schematized images
of city goddesses also appear on other artistic monuments. The city goddesses of Roma, Constantinopolis,
Alexandria and Treviorum have certain individual characteristics in the illustrations of the famous Calendar
from the year 354,31 while the figurines of the goddesses
(Roma, Constantinopolis, Alexandria and Antiochia)
on the silver appliqués for the wagon from the renowned treasure from the second half of the 4th century,
found at Esquiline, are schematized in their expression,
so the helmet as an attribute of Roma also appears on
the personification of new Rome – Constantinople.32
However, while the iconography of Roma as a goddess
seated on a throne as an Amazon with a helmet on her
head and spear and shield in her hands is established
first of all after many representations on the coins33 and
was also repeated on the bronze chest from Croatia,34
the looks and attributes of other city goddesses changed. The official iconography of Tyche Constantinopolis, that in the beginning relied on the appearance of
Dea Roma, was established in 330 when on one silver
multiple minted on May 11th of that year the goddess
was depicted sitting on the throne with a mural crown
on her head and cornucopia in her hand.35 Although in
the ensuing decades this goddess sometimes appeared
on the coins with a flower wreath and thyrsos as well,
and sometimes with a helmet and thyrsos or with mural
crown and thyrsos,36 her common attributes are the
mural crown, cornucopia and sceptre in her hands. In
this way the city goddess of Constantinople is represented on a bronze statuette housed today in the Metropolitan Museum in New York.37 The main elements of
this iconography, the idealized hair style of the goddess seated on the throne, dressed in tunic and cloak
with mural crown on head and cornucopia in the left
hand, were repeated in the representations of other city
goddesses. The attribute in the other hand is diverse
and variable, so the palm branch, which the personification of Sirmium, holds in her hand on the stamp on
the gold ingots is not necessarily her regular attribute.
As only the head is preserved of the marble sculpture
of Tyche of Sirmium, we can assume that it was a seated
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161
figure of the goddess, dressed in tunic and cloak, around
80 cm high and with a cornucopia in the left hand. In
contrast to the high cylindrical crowns with moulded
lines depicting turrets and town gates usually worn by
the goddesses of Alexandria and Antioch38 on the appliqués from the Esquiline treasure, or the goddess of Constantinople on the bronze statuette and that wreathe the
heads of city goddesses from the Hellenistic39 and
Early Roman period40, resembling the calathos on the
heads of the Oriental deities, the crown on the marble
head from Sirmium is of smaller height with scantily depicted vertical mouldings, which by alternating convex
and concave vertical surfaces barely sketch the battlements on the wall. Similarly depicted mural crowns
can be seen on the heads of other city goddesses from
the 3rd/4th centuries such as the basalt specimen from
the museum in Damascus,41 or the image on the sardonyx cameo from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in
Vienna.42 The simplified look of the mural crown on
the head from Sirmium is a consequence of the general
movement towards schematization in Late Roman art,
as well as the mediocre quality of manufacture by a
local craftsman. Despite the plain expression without
individual features this head is a good example of 4th
century sculptural work where the required expression
and the dignity of the city goddess is achieved by the
gaze aiming to the distance and the position of the
head, which is thrown back. Unfortunately, the head
has been found in a secondary position, so it is not possible to establish whether the sculpture of the city goddess of which it was a part decorated some structure
29
Baratte 1978, 105–109.
Baratte 1978, 107–108.
31 Stern 1953, 124, PL. II, III.
32 Dalton 1901, Nr. 332–445, PL. XX; Spätantike 1983, Kat. 84;
Aurea Roma 2000, cat. 114; Constantino 2005, cat. 82.
33 Spätantike 1983, Kat. 86, 89, 92.
34 Buschhausen 1971, 23, Nr. A2, Taf. 1–6.
35 Alföldi 1963, 149–150, Abb. 225.
36 Alföldi 1963, 150.
37 Spätantike 1983, Kat. 85.
38 For the shapes of mural crowns on various representations
of Tyche of Alexandria and Tyche of Antioch, cf. LIMC I, 499–494,
nr. 27, 40, 49, 52, 57 and 840–851, nr. 1–13, 18, 21, 28, 93, 98, 99, 100,
104, 105, 106, 110, 117, 120, 122, 123, 125, 128, 129.
39 Bieber 1955, Fig. 102 (Tyche of Antioch, work of the sculptor Eutychides).
40 Hofmann, Kerner 2002, 96–97, Abb. 143 (Tyche of Gerasa).
41 Zouhdi 1976, 107, fig. 41.
42 Trésors des Empereurs 1994, 106, nr. 174.
30
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IVANA POPOVI]
from the time of Constantine or from the time of his
successors sometime later. We know that until the end
of the 4th century Sirmium maintained its role as an
important administrative, commercial and cultural centre, frequented by emperors, and that some of them, like
Constantius, even prepared there for war with the barbarians and after victory celebrated the triumph there.
The restoration of the residential building in the 4th
century is also confirmed by the archaeological excavations at site 85.43
The fragment of an arm, most probably the shoulder
and upper arm (C–266/2005), discovered in October
2005 in room 21 in the eastern section of sector A also
belongs to the group of sculptures from the same complex of the imperial palace in Sirmium (Fig. 6). Judging by its dimensions (preserved length 12.6 cm, width
7.4 cm, height 6 cm) this fragment made of white marble, originating from the Eastern Mediterranean quarries Aphyon or Pentelicon, is part of the arm of a woman
of whose appearance is unfortunately unknown.
A fragmented hand with a portion of the right arm
(Fig. 7) was discovered in September of 2005 in another
section of the residential complex, to the south of the
previous one, in sector D at site 85. Fragment (C–171/
2005) of white coarse-grained marble, originating from
the quarry Gummern near Villach in Austria (total length
13 cm, cross-section 5 x 4 cm, width of hand 6.3 cm), was
found at the absolute altitude of 79.21 meters in a layer
of earth with scattered mortar and brick. Two medieval
burials were also discovered in the layer and underneath
were encountered the remains of Roman architecture,
frescoes and a floor with a geometric mosaic, meaning
that the hand was found in a secondary position. The
hand is clenched into a fist, but as the fingers are not
close-fitting it is obvious that they originally held a thin
cylindrical object. The thumb and forefinger are almost
completely destroyed, while the three remaining fingers are well preserved. Although the fingers are slender and finely modelled it is more probable according
to their shape and size that it was a male rather than a
female hand. The hand follows the direction of the forearm, but the position of the arm in relation to the body
is not clear. It is also impossible to determine what was
in the hand. If we assume that it was the attribute of a
certain deity it could be a sceptre, trident, arrow, torch
or some other object of similar diameter.
Of all the fragments of marble sculptures discovered between the years 2003 and 2005 at site 85 in
Sirmium only the head of Venus or Apollo was found
in situ, under the floor of the Late Roman structure,
although this work of art was produced in some good
Fig. 6. Arm Fragment (Shoulder)
Sl. 6. Deo ruke (rame ?)
sculptural atelier, perhaps in Rome itself, during the
seventies of the 1st century. On the other hand, despite
the fact that the head of Tyche of Sirmium was discovered in a secondary position, it is clear, according to the
stylistic and iconographic characteristics, that it dates
from the 4th century and was manufactured locally.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to establish whether
both sculptures date from the same phase of the Late
Roman structure and if so, whether they adorned the
very same room. Considering that the Roman horizons
at this site were disturbed by burial pits and structures
from later periods, from the Great Migration to Austrian
times, it is not possible to define the position of the
sculpture to whom the fragment of the arm, probably
shoulder, belonged, and its relation to the previous
sculptures. These three sculptures were of approximately the same size, around 80 cm, while the sculpture
with the hand holding an attribute and discovered in
the south sector of the site could have been somewhat
taller. The analysis of the marble used for these sculptures revealed that the head of Venus or Apollo and
shoulder fragment of the statue were made of marble
originating from quarries in the eastern Mediterranean,
while the head of the Tyche of Sirmium was carved
from Carrara marble. On the basis of this limited sample
of the analyzed marble used for the sculptures it is not
possible to draw conclusions on the use of marble from
distinct quarries for the carving of sculptures intended
for certain structures at a particular period of time. Of
43
Jeremi}, Popovi} 2004, 286–287, sl. 6.
MARBLE SCULPTURES FROM THE IMPERIAL PALACE IN SIRMIUM
163
a
b
c
d
Fig. 7a–d. Hand and Arm Fragment
Sl. 7a–d. [aka i deo ruke
some interest is the information that the fragment of
arm with the hand holding an attribute was made of
marble from the quarry in Gummern, whence came
most of the material used for making tombstones and
sarcophagi, a fact explained by the easy and relatively
cheap transport of the marble blocks along the Drava
River to the cities on the Danube and via tributaries to
settlements on the Sava River.44 This speaks in favour
of the hypothesis that the sculpture to which this arm
belonged was made in the Sirmium workshop or that it
arrived here as a semi-finished article from the workshop within the Gummern quarry that supplied certain
larger centres in Pannonia with its products, mostly of
funerary character.45
The preserved heads of two out of three sculptures
from the north-western section of the structure make it
possible to conclude that the statues are from depicted
deities of different character whose images, however,
transmitted a similar message. The figure of Venus or
STARINAR LVI/2006.
Apollo from the early Imperial period placed in the
Late Roman residential structure confirmed the continuity and legitimacy of the imperial authority, which
had its centre in Sirmium under the protection of the city
Tyche at certain points during the first half of the 4th
century. Therefore, both sculptures are testimony to imperial propaganda and its multi-layered aspects, and
indirectly also about the structure within which they
were found, thus establishing its official, more precisely, palatial function.
44 Djuri} 2005, 76. Results of geological-archaeological analysis of the stone material from Sirmium performed as a part of the
projects Stone Use in Roman Towns: Resources, Transport, Products
and Clients. Sirmium, under the directoship of Prof. Dr Bojan Djuri}
from the Faculty of Phylosophy in Ljubljana will be published in
this volume of Starinar.
45 Djuri} 2005, 78–80.
164
IVANA POPOVI]
ABBREVIATIONS:
BMC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
LIMC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
RIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum,
London
Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae,
Zürich–München
The Roman Imperial Coinage, London
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Anti~ki portret / Classical Portraits 1987 – Anti~ki
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166
Rezime:
IVANA POPOVI]
IVANA POPOVI], Arheolo{ki institut, Beograd
MERMERNE SKULPTURE IZ CARSKE PALATE
U SIRMIJUMU
Tokom sistematskih arheolo{kih iskopavawa, realizovanih u periodu od 2003. do 2005. godine na lokalitetu 85 Sirmijuma, za koji se sa velikom dozom sigurnosti pretpostavqa da predstavqa deo kompleksa carske palate, otkriveno
je nekoliko fragmenata mermernih skulptura. Najzana~ajnije su dve skoro u potpunosti o~uvane glave bo`anstava.
Glava mlade osobe od mle~no belog sitnozrnastog mermera, izrazito fine fakture, poreklom sa Pentelikona,
otkrivena je ispod kasnoanti~kog poda u prostoriji 7 rezidencijalnog objekta. Skulptura izuzetnog kvaliteta iz
druge polovine I veka, predstavqa bo`anstvo, najverovatnije Veneru ili Apolona. Druga glava od Karara mermera,
skulptorski rad iz IV veka, na|ena je u sekundarnom polo`aju, a na osnovu gradske krune na glavi, identifikovana
je kao Tihe Sirmijuma.
Pored glava bo`anstava, u istom delu kompleksa otkriven je i fragment ruke, najverovatnije ramena, neke skulpture. U ju`nom sektoru kompleksa na|ena je jedna fragmentovana ruka sa delimi~no o~uvanom {akom, u kojoj se, obuhva}en savijenim prstima, nalazio neki atribut.
Ne mo`e se, na`alost, utvrditi da li skulpture bo`anstava pripadaju istoj fazi kasnoanti~kog objekta, a ako je to
ta~no, da li su ukra{avale istu prostoriju. S obzirom da su
rimski slojevi na lokalitetu poreme}eni ukopima grobova
i objekata iz kasnijih perioda, od seobe naroda do austrijskog vremena, ne mo`e se definisati polo`aj skulpture kojoj je pripadao deo ruke, verovatno ramena, kao ni wen odnos
prema prethodnim. Ove tri skulpture bile su pribli`no
iste visine, oko 80 cm, dok je skulptura kojoj je pripadala
{aka koja dr`i neki atribut, otkrivena u ju`nom sektoru
lokaliteta, mogla biti ne{to vi{a.
Na osnovu sa~uvanih glava dve od tri skulpture iz severozapadnog dela objekta, bilo je mogu}e zakqu~iti da one
prikazuju bo`anstva razli~itog karaktera, ~ije predstave,
me|utim, prenose sli~nu poruku. Figurom Venere ili Apolona iz ranocarskog perioda, postavqenom u kasnoanti~kom rezidencijalnom objektu, potvr|ivao se kontinuitet i
legitimitet carske vlasti, kojoj je, u pojedinim momentima
tokom prve polovine IV veka, sedi{te bilo u Sirmijumu,
pod okriqem gradske Tihe. Dakle, obe skulpture predstavqaju svedo~anstvo o carskoj propagandi i wenim vi{eslojnim aspektima, a, indirektno, i o objektu u kojem su na|ene,
potvr|uju}i wegovu oficijalnu, preciznije re~eno, palatijalnu funkciju.